Helenburg, Mountain Villa in River Valley County.

The Earl Foyle sat upright behind the desk, while Johnny leaned lazily against the wall behind him with his arms folded.

Leon and Bishop Becket stood side by side on the other side of the desk, watching as the apothecary brought by the Earl carefully assessed the purity of the Mana and weighed it.

The apothecary divided the Mana crystals Leon had brought into three purity tiers: eighty to eighty-two percent, eighty-three to eighty-five percent, and above eighty-five percent. After the final weighing, the total weight came to exactly one hundred and twenty grams.

“Beautiful!”

Seeing the result, the Earl Foyle’s face revealed an elegant smile as he looked up at Leon. “When Bishop Becket first contacted me, I had my doubts. In just one quarter, you have achieved what we expected—no, you have far exceeded our expectations!”

“It was all thanks to your support,” Leon replied.

“This year alone, your output should reach three to four hundred grams. Just your production will be enough to satisfy the high-end markets of five surrounding counties. After that, perhaps I may even expect your scale to expand further,” the Earl said.

“This kid’s production model really works. Do we even need to keep dealing with those witches in the east anymore?” Johnny suddenly interjected. “Should I cancel the voyage in the second half of the year?”

“No, our relationship with the Witch Gathering must still be maintained for now,” the Earl replied after a moment’s thought.

“Alright then.” Johnny ended the topic decisively.

Hearing this, Leon realized that the Witch Gathering that had been supplying the Earl was likely located on the Moirland archipelago across the sea. Johnny was responsible for the transport.

They had probably been relying on the Earl’s cross-sea import and export business all along, hiding Mana and Magical Potions among cargo shipments, bringing them back, and then distributing them across the eastern territories through domains managed by their respective cadres.

After the apothecary finished weighing, another middle-aged woman quickly calculated the account on paper and handed it to the Earl for verification. The Earl merely glanced at it before signaling with his eyes for it to be given to Leon.

The woman passed the slip to Leon. After seeing the final amount, he confirmed with the Earl, “Six and a half million?”

“Different purities naturally command different purchase prices. You produced Mana with a purity of eighty-eight percent. Such a rare raw material holds strategic value for our business. I said before that the surplus portion would be settled separately. What do you think of this purchase price?” the Earl asked for Leon’s opinion.

“I am very satisfied,” Leon replied.

“Then we will follow this purchase price from now on.” The Earl smiled faintly and beckoned with a raised hand.

The middle-aged woman who had calculated the account earlier brought out a locked chest and took out gold vouchers of different denominations from inside.

Leon noticed that some of the gold vouchers did not bear the Church’s Four-Pointed Star Emblem, but instead the emblem of a merchant consortium bank. The issuer of these vouchers was the Foyle Merchant Consortium Bank.

“Is this a bank you operate?” Leon asked.

“Yes. An Empire-certified bank. These gold vouchers can be used directly in fifteen eastern counties. If you wish to exchange them for cash or other equivalents, there is a branch of ours here in Helenburg,” the Earl Foyle replied casually.

Leon had learned about the Earl Foyle through other channels as well. The Earl had only become a noble fifteen years ago. Before becoming an Earl, he had been an apprentice knight.

The previous Earl Foyle had been a distant relative. Through some kind of transaction, he had legally transferred the inheritance rights to him.

After obtaining the title, he quickly became a fully appointed knight and at one point reached the rank equivalent to Knight Commander, serving as deputy commander of a knight order under the Church of the God of War.

In the war ten years ago, he retired due to injury and began focusing on managing his territory.

Before long, Foyle had become a commercial center of the east. He owned numerous industries across the eastern counties—plantations, factories, real estate, shops—and even a private armed fleet capable of cross-sea transport, conducting large-scale import and export trade.

For a man like this to establish a private bank and issue gold vouchers that circulated in place of paper currency across the eastern Empire did not seem particularly surprising.

Leon took the gold vouchers and counted them, preparing to settle the remaining payment with Johnny on the spot. But he realized the total here was exactly six million Fenni.

He looked at the Earl in surprise. “My lord, isn’t this amount incorrect? You already prepaid two million.”

After deducting the two million, the Earl only needed to pay four and a half million for this batch.

“I heard about the deal you reached with Johnny. Johnny asked for three million to kill that Drake. Since you secured the Labyrinth’s production to supply us, the cost of slaying the Drake should be borne by me. The one and a half million you prepaid to Johnny, I am compensating you here. As for the remaining payment, I have already settled it with Johnny. You need not pay any more,” the Earl replied.

Leon looked at Johnny. Johnny said nothing, merely raised his brows and nodded once, indicating that the Earl had already cleared the entire account.

“Thank you for your generosity.” Since the Earl had settled everything so clearly, Leon did not stand on ceremony and expressed his thanks directly.

“Other than me, you are the second person who can get Johnny to work,” the Earl said with a chuckle.

“If this kid wraps things up and takes over River Valley County sooner, I can get back to my ship sooner. That’s all,” Johnny shrugged. “Can I leave the handover to Becket? Can I go now? My ship is waiting at the foot of the mountain.”

“In such a hurry? Won’t you stay for a meal?” the Earl turned to Johnny.

“Forget it. Southern cuisine doesn’t suit my taste,” Johnny replied.

“At least have a drink to celebrate our success.” The Earl persuaded him, then picked up a bell and shook it.

The butler waiting outside opened the door. Behind him, a maid carried in an ice bucket with a fine bottle of liquor inside.

Another maid brought in glasses and arranged them on the table.

As the amber liquor was poured into the glasses, the usually stern-faced Johnny finally lifted the corners of his mouth. “Rare for you to bring out this treasured bottle.”

“You have your share of the credit. Naturally, I must bring out something that satisfies you.” The Earl smiled and lifted his glass first. “By the way, how did your toast go again?”

Johnny raised his glass, deliberately adopting a bold tone and declared, “Only comrades and fine wine must never be betrayed!”

Everyone present laughed softly.

The Earl raised his glass toward Leon and said, “To the new cadres of South Harbor County and River Valley County—cheers to our success!”

Leon and Bishop Becket raised their glasses together. Leon echoed, “To our success!”

They drained their glasses in one gulp. The spicy liquor felt like a ball of fire rolling into the stomach, leaving behind a lingering aftertaste of flowers mixed with yeast. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

“This stuff’s excellent. Mind if I have another before I leave?” Johnny pointed at the bottle in the maid’s hands.

“If you like it, take it with you,” the Earl said decisively.

“Haha, Mastan, that’s what I like about you—so generous!” Johnny laughed heartily, snatching the bottle straight from the maid. “Until next time, gentlemen.”

“Thank you, Mr. Johnny,” Leon said to him.

“Do your job well, kid.” Johnny raised his brows, then left with the bottle in hand, passing through the courtyard and the main gate before heading down the mountain on his own.

“Since business is concluded, let us begin the meal.” The Earl sat down again.

“Mr. Johnny said the handover could be left to me. I suspect he did not even inform the local minor cadres. I will go check on the situation first,” Bishop Becket requested of the Earl.

“Johnny does have a tendency to handle matters that way—very well, go ahead.” The Earl nodded.

“You two eat first,” Bishop Becket said to Leon, then gave a respectful bow to the Earl and withdrew.

Leon had no choice but to sit alone with the Earl at the table.

The Earl glanced at the butler, who immediately understood and instructed the maids to serve the dishes.

“Recruiting you may well be one of the most correct decisions of my life. I did not expect even Johnny to appreciate you. That is truly rare,” the Earl said with a smile.

“You overpraise me,” Leon replied.

“How does it feel, having your enterprise finally set on the right track?” the Earl asked, glancing at the gold vouchers beside Leon’s hand.

“I’m not sure how to put it—” Leon thought for a moment before answering. “When I first started making money, I was genuinely excited. At that time, my goal was to earn three million. Now that I’ve suddenly reached that goal, I feel surprisingly… not as excited as I thought I would be.”

With this sum, combined with the profits from their Magical Potion operations over this period, even after splitting the earnings fifty-fifty with Rena, Leon’s assets far exceeded his original target of three million Fenni.

And the injury that had troubled him had healed on the spot after he gained the power of Beastified Form.

He now possessed a healthy body, substantial wealth, and even special powers. Yet he found he was not particularly happy about it.

After everything he had experienced this year, his current goal was to save Sally Hesh and Melissa Hesh. Money no longer seemed so important.

“In this world, I am perhaps the one who understands that feeling best,” the Earl said with a soft laugh. “I was most excited when I sold my first batch of Mana, earning only one hundred thousand. At that time, prices were roughly equivalent to two hundred thousand now. Later, millions, tens of millions, even hundreds of millions flowed through my hands, yet I could never recapture that feeling.”

“When a person is hungry, everything tastes good,” Leon nodded.

“That is the truth. At different stages, one’s desires are always different. Being easily satisfied is not necessarily a bad thing. Did you ever think about what you would do after earning three million?” the Earl asked.

“Stop. Live a life where I no longer have to worry about money,” Leon answered.

Even now, the thought still lingered in his mind—once he achieved his goal, he would withdraw as soon as possible and live quietly with Rena.

The smile on the Earl’s face grew subtle.

“In your view, that sounds somewhat lacking in ambition, doesn’t it?” Leon gave a self-deprecating smile.

He wanted to test the Earl’s attitude.

After all, once he proved his value, if he truly wished to withdraw in the future, the Earl might not necessarily agree.

“No. It is rare. Being able to control one’s desires at the appropriate stage is very important.” The Earl’s smile faded. “When I earned my first fortune, I began wanting vast sums of money, a territory, the revival of my family, countless things—my desires expanded beyond my control, and I failed.”

“But haven’t you achieved them all?” Leon said.

“But I sacrificed the love of my life for it. In that regard, you are more fortunate than I,” the Earl said, looking at Leon.

“Thanks to your magnanimity,” Leon replied.

“If I had not shared your experience, I would never have guessed what you did. My failure differed from yours. I was too eager for quick success and made some decisions that could only be called foolish. That is how I caused her death. Some things can never be undone. No matter how much money I earn afterward, no matter how much power I gain, the ending remains the same.” The Earl spoke with a trace of melancholy.

Leon listened silently. Then he suddenly heard the Earl murmur in a low voice, “However, even if the outcome cannot be reversed, there are still some things that can be reclaimed.”